Guernsey's new competition legislation comes into effect today, prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and seeking to ensure that businesses do not abuse a dominant position within the Guernsey marketplace.

The legislation has led to the creation of the Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority which will work with the Jersey Competition and Regulatory Authority under the title of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities ("CICRA"). The legislation also requires that certain mergers and acquisitions be approved by the relevant authorities.

As a result of the new legislation and combined approach of CICRA, Collas Crill has formed a competition team led by Jason Romer to assist businesses in both Guernsey and Jersey. The new team combines the firm's historic expertise in relation to Jersey's competition law and Guernsey utilities regulation with Guernsey lawyers from the firm's risk and regulatory practice. In Guernsey, Collas Crill has been involved in all the major appeals and disputes that regulated entities have had with the utilities regulator. As such we are ideally placed to bring this and other relevant experience to the new competition law, the principles of which mirror many utilities regulation principles. You can meet our Competition team here.

In addition Competition team member Gareth Morgan has been busy comparing the Guernsey and Jersey competition regimes and you can find his analysis of some of the more interesting differences between the two here.

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